RubberDucks Broadcasters Jim Clark & Marco LaNave to call Guardians Spring Training & Spring Breakout game
(AKRON, OHIO) February 27, 2024 – Before they call the action together on Opening Night at Canal Park on April 5, Akron RubberDucks broadcasters Jim Clark and Marco LaNave will call a Cleveland Guardians Major League Spring Training game and the inaugural Spring Breakout game featuring Guardians and Cincinnati Reds
(AKRON, OHIO) February 27, 2024 – Before they call the action together on Opening Night at Canal Park on April 5, Akron RubberDucks broadcasters Jim Clark and Marco LaNave will call a Cleveland Guardians Major League Spring Training game and the inaugural Spring Breakout game featuring Guardians and Cincinnati Reds prospects in Goodyear, Arizona.
Clark, LaNave, and Columbus Clippers broadcaster Ryan Mitchell will call the Guardians game Wednesday, March 13, against the Chicago Cubs, with a 4 p.m. ET broadcast available for free on CLEGuardians.com, MLB.com and the MLB app. On the same platforms, the three will also call the first-ever Spring Breakout game between Guardians and Reds prospects on Saturday, March 16, at Goodyear Ballpark at 7 p.m. ET.
Clark enters his 31st season with the RubberDucks organization. His first season was 1990, the second year of the franchise in Northeast Ohio. He has been part of six league championships, Canal Park opening in 1997 and the 2016 Eastern League All-Star Game, while calling games of dozens of players on their way to Cleveland. He is also the author of the book, “Rally ‘Round Cleveland - The Story of the 1974 Franchise-Saving Cleveland Indians”. In 2019, Clark broadcasted his first Spring Training game and was inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame.
“It will be great to head back to Goodyear for Guardians Baseball. This will be special, as Marco and I will be joined by Clippers play-by-play man Ryan Mitchell for the Cubs-Guardians and the much-anticipated Spring Breakout game between the Guardians and Reds,” Clark said. “We are extremely grateful to Jim Rosenhaus and Curtis Danburg in Cleveland and of course Ken Babby and Jim Pfander from the RubberDucks. It should be a thrilling week.”
LaNave enters his sixth year with the RubberDucks and enters his 12th season of broadcasting minor league baseball. He called league championships with Akron in 2021 and the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits in 2013. He was part of leading the rebranding launch of the now-Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2016. He has also filled in as a sports anchor on WTAM 1100 in Cleveland.
“It is an honor to be part of a Guardians broadcast. I am excited to join Jim and Ryan for a pair of unique games, and I am especially grateful to Jim Rosenhaus and Curtis Danburg with the Guardians and Ken Babby and Jim Pfander with the RubberDucks for their support in making this possible,” LaNave said. “So many recent RubberDucks are key players and top prospects for Cleveland, so I look forward to sharing in the new showcase of rising talent in the Guardians system.”
Clark and LaNave will call RubberDucks games this year on 640 WHLO, the iHeartRadio app, akronrubberducks.com and the MiLB First Pitch app. Opening Night is Friday, April 5, at 7:05 p.m. ET against the Altoona Curve at Canal Park.
The Akron RubberDucks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The RubberDucks season at Canal Park begins on Friday, April 5, against the Altoona Curve at 7:05 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 330-253-5151 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, or visit akronrubberducks.com. For more information about the team, please call 330-253-5151, visit the website at akronrubberducks.com, Facebook page facebook.com/AkronRubberDucks, or on Twitter @AkronRubberDuck, and Instagram @akronrubberducks.